Vale International, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Brazil-based global mining giant Vale, entered into an agreement with Indian multinational conglomerate Essar Group to supply iron ore agglomerates for the Green Steel Arabia (GSA) project.

The Letter of Intent (LOI) was signed on 1 September 2023, according to an Essar Group press statement.

Vale will supply four million tonnes per annum (mtpa) of Iron Ore Agglomerates (DR grade pellets and Briquettes) for the GSA project in Saudi Arabia, the statement noted.

Essar is looking at investing about $4.5 billion in setting up an integrated steel plant in Ras Al Khair, the statement said.

Last month, Bahrain Steel signed a LOI with Essar Group to supply of iron ore pellets to the GSA project.

Vale's Regional Director, Andre Figueiredo said: "Vale International's LOI with Essar for the annual supply of 4 million tonnes of high-grade Iron Ore Agglomerated products signifies our long-term commitment to meet the growing demand for raw material by the steel industry; especially in the Middle East.”

Operating from facilities in Brazil and Oman, Vale is a leading provider of high-quality raw materials to Integrated Steel Producers worldwide.

Naushad Ansari, Country Head for Essar Group in Saudi Arabia, said: "Through this LOI with Vale, and the previous LoI with Bahrain Steel, we will have secured 100 percent of the raw material supply of iron ore feed for the Saudi Steel Plant. Our plan is to start production in the year 2027 and are confident of replacing the flat steel imports into Saudi Arabia and the GCC region with our bouquet of products."

(Editing by Anoop Menon) (anoop.menon@lseg.com)

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